13 The Big Day Arrives

13 The Big Day Arrives
The sun was shining brightly on the morning of the big day, but the ground was still
white with snow and the air was very cold.
Outside the gates of Wonka’s factory, enormous crowds of people had gathered to
watch the five lucky ticket holders¹ going in. The excitement was tremendous. It was just
before ten o’clock. The crowds were pushing and shouting, and policemen with arms
linked were trying to hold them back from the gates.
Right beside the gates, in a small group that was carefully shielded from the crowds
by the police, stood the five famous children, together with the grown-ups who had
come with them.
The tall bony figure of Grandpa Joe could be seen standing² quietly among them, and
beside him, holding tightly on to his hand, was little Charlie Bucket himself.
All the children, except Charlie, had both their mothers and fathers with them, and it
was a good thing that they had, otherwise the whole party might have got out of hand.
They were so eager to get going that their parents were having to hold them back by
force to prevent them from climbing over the gates. ‘Be patient!’ cried the fathers. ‘Be
still! It’s not time yet! It’s not ten o’clock!’
Behind him, Charlie Bucket could hear the shouts of the people in the crowd as they
pushed and fought to get a glimpse of the famous children.
‘There’s Violet Beauregarde!’ he heard someone shouting. ‘That’s her all right! I can
remember her face from the newspapers!’
‘And you know what?’ somebody else shouted back. ‘She’s still chewing that dreadful
old piece of gum she’s had for three months! You look at her jaws³! They’re still working
on it!’
‘Who’s the big fat boy?’
‘That’s Augustus Gloop!’
‘So it is!’
‘Enormous, isn’t he!’
‘Fantastic!’
‘Who’s the kid with a picture of The Lone⁴ Ranger⁵ stencilled⁶ on his windcheater?’
‘That’s Mike Teavee! He’s the television fiend!’
‘He must be crazy! Look at all those toy pistols he’s got hanging all over him!’
‘The one I want to see is Veruca Salt!’ shouted another voice in the crowd. ‘She’s the
girl whose father bought up half a million chocolate bars and then made the workers in
his peanut factory unwrap every one of them until they found a Golden Ticket! He gives
her anything she wants! Absolutely anything! She only has to start screaming for it and
she gets it!’
‘Dreadful, isn’t it?’
‘Shocking, I call it!’
‘Which do you think is her?’
‘That one! Over there on the left! The little girl in the silver mink⁷ coat!’
‘Which one is Charlie Bucket?’
‘Charlie Bucket? He must be that skinny little shrimp⁸ standing beside the old fellow
who looks like a skeleton. Very close to us. Just there! See him?’
‘Why hasn’t he got a coat on in this cold weather?’
‘Don’t ask me. Maybe he can’t afford to buy one.’
‘Goodness me! He must be freezing!’
Charlie, standing only a few paces away from the speaker, gave Grandpa Joe’s hand a
squeeze, and the old man looked down at Charlie and smiled.
Somewhere in the distance, a church clock began striking ten.
Very slowly, with a loud creaking of rusty⁹ hinges, the great iron gates of the factory
began to swing open.
The crowd became suddenly silent. The children stopped jumping about. All eyes
were fixed¹⁰ upon the gates.
‘ There he is!’ somebody shouted. ‘Thats him!’
And so it was!

1 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

4 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

5 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

6 stencilled   

v.用模板印（文字或图案）( stencil的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He then stencilled the ceiling with a moon and stars motif. 他随后用模版在天花板上印上了月亮和繁星图案。 来自辞典例句
• Each cage was stencilled with the name and the brand of the bull-breeder. 每只笼子上都印有公牛饲养人的姓名和商标。 来自辞典例句

7 mink   

n.貂，貂皮

参考例句：

• She was wearing a blue dress and a mink coat.她穿着一身蓝色的套装和一件貂皮大衣。
• He started a mink ranch and made a fortune in five years. 他开了个水貂养殖场，五年之内就赚了不少钱。

8 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

9 rusty   

adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的

参考例句：

• The lock on the door is rusty and won't open.门上的锁锈住了。
• I haven't practiced my French for months and it's getting rusty.几个月不用，我的法语又荒疏了。

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。